Verb Forms and Tenses Flashcards

By the time the external auditors arrive next Monday, the finance team ___ on the quarterly report for nearly three weeks.

Answer: will have been working

The future perfect continuous (will have been + -ing) describes an action that continues up to a specific point in the future and stresses how long it lasts ('for nearly three weeks'). 'Will be working' only describes an action in progress at that moment, without the duration up to it. 'Has been working' is anchored to the present, not to next Monday.

If Clara hadn't missed her connecting flight in Frankfurt yesterday, she ___ in Rome right now.

Answer: would be

This is a mixed conditional. The if-clause refers to the past (past perfect: 'hadn't missed'), but the result refers to the present ('right now'), so it needs would + base verb: 'would be'. 'Would have been' would put the result in the past, which contradicts 'right now'.

Which sentence uses the verb form correctly?

Answer: I'm seeing my dentist on Friday afternoon.

'Know', 'belong' and 'own' are stative verbs and are not normally used in continuous forms. 'See' is stative when it means perceive or understand, but when it means 'meet' or 'have an appointment with' it is a dynamic verb. That means it can take the present continuous for a fixed future arrangement.

I'd rather you ___ in the house; the smell gets into the curtains.

Answer: didn't smoke

When 'would rather' is followed by a different subject, it takes a past-tense form to express a present or future preference: 'I'd rather you didn't smoke.' 'Hadn't smoked' would express regret about the past. 'Don't smoke' and 'wouldn't smoke' are not used in this structure.

The project is already two months behind schedule. It's high time the manager ___ some serious decisions.

Answer: made

'It's (high) time' + subject takes the past simple to show that something should already be happening now. 'It's high time the manager made...' means the decision is overdue. The past tense here is unreal and does not refer to past time.

No sooner ___ the platform than the train pulled away without us.

Answer: had we reached

When a sentence starts with the negative adverbial 'No sooner', the subject and auxiliary are inverted. The first of two consecutive past events goes in the past perfect, giving 'No sooner had we reached... than...'. 'We had reached' has the right tense but is missing the inversion. 'Have we reached' uses the wrong tense.